i know its kinda long but please take a couple minutes to read it .................... I was cleaning my cage today and it was my first time trying new bedding i usually use kay cob cause its cheaper then newspaper and they cant use wood shavings. and i have never gotten it before they werent white and in a big bunch there were about 5 spread apart, brown not like the ones ive seen and im not 100% sure there maggots but i think they are. i put a couple in a plastic baggie and my guinea pig is outside rite now and i have checked him. i clean his cage weekly but i dont want them to come back and i have fly traps in my bedroom. i want to know how i can prevent them any scent flies dont like that is not toxic maybe keep a dryer sheet around if they dont like that?? YOU DONT KNOW HOW MUCH THIS MEANS TO ME THANKYOU!
You must check your piggy * very * carefully, check his bottom, make sure there are no maggots there. Fly maggots can eat an animal alive, they don't only go for dead things. This is called fly strike. If you see any maggots at all on your piggy, take him to the vet urgently as he will need to be cleaned thoroughly to make sure they have all been removed.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com Clean out your piggy's cage more often. Make sure you remove all poo from the corners, any uneaten food must be removed daily (at least) because not only could it attract flies, if your piggy eats old food it could be mouldy (will definitely have lower nutritional value) and could make him ill.
You can clean his cage with vinegar. That will help remove any build up from urine, but rinse it with clean water afterwards. There is not the risk of fumes from vinegar that there is from bleach.
Maggots only eat dead things. Make sure you have screens over the openings of the cage that flies cannot get through. Clean the cage out with soap. Use new bedding and make sure the food does not get wet. put an empty bowl under the water to catch any drops. This will prevent the bedding from getting wet. Maggots don't grow on dry bedding. If no flies can get into the cage there will be no maggots but make sure your pig has adequate ventilation.
They could be beetle larvae. They sometimes show up in bedding, but it's also likely they came from his food or hay. I would check your bags to make sure. Flies are attracted to feces and rot. If these are maggots you just need to spot clean more often and remove old or wet food right away. It's gross when this happens but it probably won't be an ongoing problem. Don't worry too much about it.
Are you leaving fresh food in there for more than four hours at a time?
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Also when you clean your cage you should wash in in warm soapy water (a small amount of dish soap works,) and then spray it down with a vinegar/water mix. Try doing this twice a week. Carefresh makes excellent bedding, perhaps you should consider switching.
You need to clean up their food and cage more often. Flies go for waste, be it food or body waste.
Feed them, but only leave dry grain foods for longer food sources, not veg. Feed them the veg, then take away what isn't eaten after a couple of hours.
If there's no place for flies to lay their eggs there will be no maggots.
DO NOT PUT BLEACH IN THE CAGE!!!! YOu will KILL your guinea pig. Wow you are stupid. Just clean the cage with dawn dishsoap and then with a vinegar water solution! AND CLEAN THE DAMN CAGE REGULARLY!
Stop neglecting your animals.
I have had this experience before ... they are fruit flies ... they come to fresh food that has been out a while and old feces .... they did not do harm to my pigge but can cause helth problems to piggies .. but u must make shure to check and take out old foodand may scoop out the poop corner daily!!!
You might want to celan the cage a little more often because guinea pigs are VERRY messy
Please do not use corn cob bedding. It has dust, and when guinea pigs pee on it, it gets wet, and corn cob molds when it gets wet; also attracting flies. In addition, corn cob bedding used for extended periods tends to cause foot irritation for guinea pigs. Just because it's cheaper does not make is safe or better. And just because they market it for guinea pigs does not mean it's okay; pet store products will say anything to get you to buy it!
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com They actually can use woodshavings. As long as it isn't cedar, or pine. If it is kiln-dried pine, that's okay (don't confuse it with air-dried). Aspen is a good choice too.
I use fleece bedding because it's comfortable for my guinea pigs. I've heard wonderful things about Carefresh, however it's a little expensive.
Clean the cage, hose it out, and use boiling hot water to kill any fly eggs that may be present. Spray it with a mixture of vinegar and water and wipe it down; dry thoughrougly, and add fresh bedding (NOT corn cob bedding! )
